Previously:

"We've done it, Zuko," Azula said. "It's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se."

"I betrayed Uncle… and Shun," Zuko said.

"No, he betrayed you, and she would have purposefully led you down the wrong path," Azula said, standing up. "Zuko, when you return home, Father will welcome you as a war hero."

"But I don't have the Avatar," Zuko said. "What if Father doesn't restore my honor?"

"He doesn't need to, Zuko," Azula said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Today, you restored your own honor."

Zuko looked away, unsure of himself.

Chapter 10: Captured

Shun sat in a cell on a Fire Navy ship. Her hands and feet were in shackles, with her hands bound behind her back. They had also gagged her. She couldn't see Iroh, but she knew he wasn't in the cell next to her because she had tried kicking the wall and received no answer for her trouble. The Fire Nation sailors seemed worried that the two of them might escape again. They were right to be worried. She had been in the Fire Nation's custody for a few weeks now, but no more. She had listened carefully until she knew when the guards changed shifts and counted down between meals so she'd know the time of day. It was night now, and the guard was nearing the end of her shift and would be tired and slow. Shun stretched her arms out as far as they would go, then stepped backwards into them, carefully bringing her arms up to be in front of her again. She removed her gag then reached up and removed one of her hair pins to pick the lock with. Because her hands were too close together, she had to hold the hairpin in her teeth while she picked the lock for the shackles on her wrists. When that clicked open, she took the hairpin out of her mouth and used it to pick the lock on the shackles around her ankles. Then she reached her hand through the bar and picked the lock on her cell door.

"Hey, what's that noise?" the guard asked. She came over to look at Shun, and Shun grabbed her and pulled her helmeted head hard into the bars. It seemed to have been enough, because the guard slumped to the floor, looking dazed. Shun opened the door and stepped out to look around. She couldn't see Iroh, so she thought he must be on another ship. She quickly and quietly made her way through the ship, ducking just out of sight whenever someone passed by. She made it up to the deck and poked her head out just enough to search for something, anything she could use to escape. There was nothing. She had been hoping they might have a smaller boat she could steal, but if they had one, she couldn't find it.

Then the alarm broke out. They had discovered her escape. Shun didn't know where to run, but it made little difference. She was grabbed from behind and re-shackled so fast it made her head spin.

"You think you're clever, don't you?" a man who looked like he might be the captain said. "Well, you're not. There's nowhere for you to escape to, so be a good girl and sit in your cell until we're ready to deal with you." he motioned for the sailors who were holding her to take her away.

Shun was dragged back to her cell and tossed in unceremoniously. She landed hard on her shoulder and winced at the pain. She lay there, thinking about her next move. Unfortunately, the captain was right. She had nowhere to go. She would have to wait until she was back on land to escape. So she didn't try to leave again. She sat in her cell and closed her eyes, deciding to get some sleep.

On another ship, Zuko was staring out at the water, watching it reflect the moonlight. Mai joined him.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked.

"I've got a lot on my mind," Zuko said. "It's been so long, over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed."

Mai yawned and smiled slightly as she said, "I just asked if you were cold. I didn't ask for your whole life story."

Zuko frowned at her, but Mai giggled a little and held his face in her hands. "Stop worrying."

They kissed.

Mai left, but Zuko stayed, staring out at the water again. It didn't feel right.

—∞—

The next day, in the Fire Nation Capital, Li and Lo, Azula's two elderly advisers, spoke to the crowd below them.

"Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's Capital," Li said. "In Ba Sing Se, she found her brother Zuko, and together they faced the Avatar..."

"And the Avatar fell! And the Earth Kingdom fell!" Li and Lo said together.

"Azula's agents quickly overtook the entire city," Li said. "They went to Ba Sing Se's great walls..."

"And brought them down!" Li and Lo said.

"The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the walls and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory," Li said.

The Dai Li had taken down Ba Sing Se's walls from the inside, allowing Fire Nation troops to enter the city as the Earth Kingdom citizens looked on with fear. Tanks were placed around Ba Sing Se's Royal Palace.

"Now the heroes have returned home!" Li and Lo said.

"Your Princess, Azula..." Lo said as Azula stepped forward to show her face to the crowd below.

"And after three long years, your prince has returned..." Li said.

"Zuko!" Li and Lo said.

Zuko came forward with a worried expression. The crowd cheered.

—∞—

Shun sat in her new jail cell. They had blindfolded her on her way in, so she had no idea where she was, but she was certain they had made three lefts and a right. Again, she couldn't see Iroh. She wondered where he was and what the Fire Nation planned to do with them. Would she be tortured for information about her gun? Would she just be killed? Would she be tortured and killed? Shun didn't plan on staying long enough to find out. Just as she was going to try to get her hairpin out again, someone appeared before her that she did not expect.

"This is it, sir," one of the guards said as they led General Hanzou Hino to her cell.

"Leave us," Hanzou said.

The guard hesitated for a moment, but left.

"Come to gloat?" Shun asked, wondering what he was doing there when she was sure he was supposed to be in the Earth Kingdom.

"I came to ask you about this," Hanzou said, holding up her mother's jade hair stick. The stylized dragon on the end was unmistakeable.

"That's mine!" Shun said, moving closer to the cell door. "Give it back!"

"Where did you get this?" Hanzou asked, ignoring her demand.

"Why?" Shun asked, furrowing her brow with confusion.

"Answer the question, or I'll throw it away," Hanzou said sternly.

"Please, don't! It was my mother's!" Shun said, horrified. "It's the only thing I have left of her!"

"Your mother's… I thought so," Hanzou said with a strange look on his face. "You look just like her..."

The crease in Shun's brow deepened. What was he talking about?

"Just like who?" Shun asked.

"What happened to your mother? What was her name?" Hanzou asked.

"I don't see why I have to —"

Hanzou turned to leave without giving back the hair stick.

"She died! She died the night I was born — she was badly burned and couldn't survive the shock! And I don't know her name, because she never told anyone what it was!"

Hanzou stopped and turned back to face her. He looked pale.

"Dead?" he asked.

"Yes," Shun said.

"How did you end up with the Aditi tribe?"

"They tried to help my mother, but she didn't make it," Shun said. "They didn't know who my family was, and there was something dangerous going on, some kind of coup. So they left the area quickly rather than get involved and took me with them. They stayed just long enough to bury my mother."

"Where? Where is she buried? Where were you born?" Hanzou asked urgently.

"On the outskirts of the Fire Nation colony, Qiang Ah," Shun said defiantly. "But I'm a member of the Aditi tribe. I don't belong to any one nation."

Hanzou's expression was unreadable as he said, "No… you're a Fire Nation citizen." He turned and left, taking her hair stick with him.

"Wait! My hair stick! Give it back!" Shun yelled after him. "Give it back!"

While Shun was screaming for Hanzou to bring back her precious memento, Zuko was sitting by a pond, feeding turtle ducks with some bread.

Azula joined him, and the turtle ducks quacked in alarm and hurriedly swam away.

"You seem so downcast," she said. "Has Mai gotten to you already? Though actually, Mai has been in a strangely good mood lately."

"I haven't seen Dad yet," Zuko said. "I haven't seen him in three years, since I was banished."

"So what?" Azula said.

"So, I didn't capture the Avatar," Zuko said.

"Who cares? The Avatar is dead..." Azula said, and Zuko looked away, "unless you think he somehow miraculously survived."

Zuko remembered Katara showing him her vial of water from the Spirit Oasis and how she said it had special properties.

"No," he said. "There's no way he could have survived." He glared at Azula, and she glared back at him.

"Well, then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," she said.

Shun wasn't sure how much time had passed (it felt like ages), but she was surprised when Hanzou eventually returned again, this time with an armed escort.

"What is this?" she asked warily, not moving from her spot on the floor.

"Open the door," Hanzou ordered the prison guard.

"But, sir —"

"Read this," Hanzou told the prison guard, handing him a scroll.

Shun watched the prison guard unroll it and read it. His expression changed from confusion to surprise.

"Yes, sir," he said. "Right away." He unlocked the door, and Hanzou stepped into Shun's cell. She was shocked when he kneeled down and pulled her into a hug.

"I found you," he said. "I've finally found you!"

Shun was disturbed and wanted to push him off, but he was hugging her too tightly for her to be able to move.

"What are you —?"

"I know who your mother was, Shun," Hanzou said, surprising her. "Because I'm your father."

Shun felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. To say she was shocked was an understatement. She had imagined before how she might meet her father, all sorts of ways, but never like this. And she never thought it would be someone responsible for terrorizing her people. For a moment, she was in denial about what she had heard, but when the general pulled back and looked at her with loving, fatherly eyes, some part of her knew that it was true. No one had ever looked at her that way before.

"Who was she?" Shun heard herself ask in a small voice.

"Her name was Yaling," Hanzou said, though he looked like it pained him to talk about her. "Come, I'll tell you more at home."

"Home?" Shun asked.

"Yes, your home," Hanzou said. "I've managed to persuade the Fire Lord to put you under house arrest. You'll be staying with me."

Shun wanted to say that she would rather stay in jail, but she quickly shut down this impulse and said nothing. It would probably be easier to escape from a private residence than a heavily guarded prison. And, although she wouldn't really admit it to herself, she wanted to know more about her family, or her mother at least.

In the Fire Nation Royal Palace, Zuko bowed before his father.

"You've been away for a long time," Ozai said. "I see the weight of your travels has changed you. You have redeemed yourself, my son." He approached Zuko, looking down at him. "Welcome home."

Zuko knew he should have been happy, but he still felt guilty.

"I am proud of you, Prince Zuko," Ozai said. "I am proud because you and your sister conquered Ba Sing Se. I am proud because when your loyalty was tested by your treacherous uncle, you did the right thing and captured the traitor. And I am proudest of all of your most legendary accomplishment: you slayed the Avatar."

Zuko was shocked.

"What did you hear?" he asked.

Azula told me everything," Ozai said. "She said she was amazed and impressed at your power and ferocity at the moment of truth."

Hanzou removed Shun's blindfold when they reached their destination. Shun found herself standing on a path in the beautiful garden of a grand, impressive house surrounded by high, sturdy stone walls. There were guards everywhere.

"This is your new home," Hanzou said. "Come and meet your brother."

"Brother?" Shun asked as Isamu emerged from the house.

"What's this, Father?" he asked. "I heard we're taking charge of a prisoner..." He trailed off when he saw Shun. "Don't tell me it's her."

"Isamu, this is your sister," Hanzou said.

"No, she's not!" Isamu said, furrowing his brow. "She's a criminal and —"

"She's also your sister," Hanzou said more firmly. "You know your mother was with child when she disappeared." He placed his hands on Shun's shoulders. "This is that child."

"No way!" Isamu said, completely rejecting the idea.

"Believe me, I get it, I do," Shun said. "I'm just as shocked as you are."

"If you're my sister, then where's my mother?" Isamu asked, getting angry.

"She's gone, Isamu," Hanzou said gently. "She was badly burned and only just managed to give birth to your sister before she died."

"Burned?" Ismau said, paling a little bit. "Are you saying she was attacked by a firebender? By him?"

"It's possible," Hanzou said grimly.

"Who's him?" Shun asked. "If you know something about my mother's death, I want to know."

"Come inside first," Hanzou said, guiding her inside, his hands still on her shoulders. He steered her to a fancy couch, and she sat down. He sat next to her, keeping a grip on her like he was afraid she might bolt.

Shun wouldn't run until she had learned everything she could about her mother.

Isamu sat down across from them in a chair that faced the couch.

"For a time I was stationed in Qiang Ah," Hanzou said. "That was where I met your mother. It was a new colony, so there was animosity between the people of Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom at first, but I fell in love with your mother at first sight. Eventually, with a lot of persistence, I was able to win her over, and we married, despite some opposition from her family. We lived a happy, peaceful life together. She had Isamu, and then three years later she became pregnant with you. But the night you were born, there was an uprising. I was away, and the rebels took advantage of that. Earth Kingdom soldiers were let into the city. They attacked our home in Qiang Ah, and your mother had to flee."

"We were supposed to leave together," Isamu said. "But when the earthbenders attacked, we were separated. They were making stones jut up through our house and a particularly big one sprang up between us, and she couldn't get around it. She ordered the servants to take care of me and get me out of there. They did as she asked and protected me, but I never knew what happened to my mother. Her body wasn't among the rubble."

"None of the rebels we captured would own up to killing or taking her, so I assumed she must have escaped," Hanzou continued. "There was a secret passage that lead from the house to outside the city. I thought she had left that way, but I couldn't find her. I searched and searched, but there was no news of her, no sightings. But now I think I know what happened." His expression darkened. "Colonel Yin, the man I left in charge while I was gone, was the one who let the Earth Kingdom soldiers into the city. He was Fire Nation, but he made a deal with the Earth Kingdom for riches and a noble position. As you probably know, Qiang Ah has rich mineral deposits that are extremely important and valuable, so the Earth Kingdom was more than willing to pay. I think your mother ran into him when she was trying to escape. He must have tried to capture her, and she fought back, so he hurt her. Your mother was a strong woman, so she would have fought against the pain and dragged herself as far as she could go, trying to survive. She must have dragged herself right into the Aditi."

"What happened to this man?" Shun asked.

"He was caught when the city was retaken and sent to rot in the Boiling Rock," Hanzou said.

"The Boiling Rock?" Shun asked.

"It's where you would have gone," Isamu said. "It's an extremely secure Fire Nation prison known for its history of unsuccessful escape attempts. The warden is a cruel man."

"Good," Shun said. She was glad the man who killed her mother had been caught and punished.

"It's getting late," Hanzou said abruptly. "Let me show you to your room. It's just a guest room right now, but we can redecorate it however you want."

Shun saw Isamu narrow his eyes at her. He looked jealous. She didn't blame him. She would be upset too if her enemy suddenly waltzed into her life and grabbed the attention of her family. She was still upset herself, learning the family she had longed to meet were actually her enemies. But she let Hanzou show her to her new room. Two guards followed them and took up positions on either side of the door outside the room. The inside was nice and tastefully decorated with high-quality furniture and goods. Shun saw that her mother's hair stick had been placed on the vanity table next to the hair brush. She also saw that bars had been put over her window.

"I hardly think this needs to be said, but don't try to escape," Hanzou warned her, then his expression softened again. "Goodnight, Shun." He closed the door behind him and left her in the room. Shun went over to the vanity table and picked up the hair stick. She held it close, thankful that it hadn't been thrown away as she had feared. She was suddenly so tired. She looked at the bed. A red nightgown had been left on top of the covers for her. Shun hesitated to put on clothing from the Fire Nation, but then she remembered the firebenders in her tribe and Iroh and reminded herself not to be prejudiced. She wondered where Iroh was and hoped he was being treated well, though she doubted it. She was sure the only reason she was allowed to be put under house arrest was because they wanted something from her, and they had decided to try the carrot rather than the stick. They were probably hoping she would begin to feel some love for her family and spill her secrets about the gun. Well, it wouldn't work. Even if she did come to love the general and his son as family, she still wouldn't tell them anything about the gun. Never. Shun changed into the red nightgown and climbed into bed. She noticed a framed painting that was sitting on the small table next to her bed when she turned to put out the light. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. It was the portrait of a young woman who looked like an older version of herself, except she didn't have a mole under one of her eyes. Shun reached out and picked up the painting to get a better look at it. She remembered her father had said she looked just like her mother. It was really true. Shun smiled, happy to finally know that. She had grown up only knowing that her mother's face had been partially burned. The adults didn't think she should see her mother like that, so no attempt was made to describe her appearance more clearly or to paint it. Shun put the framed painting back on the table. She could look at more tomorrow; she was too tired to stay awake much longer. She had never slept on silk sheets before, and it was a very pleasant experience. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

At the Royal Palace, Azula was also asleep in her bed, until Zuko entered the room.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked.

Azula smiled with her eyes still shut and said, "You're going to have to be a little more specific."

"Why did you tell Father that I was the one who killed the Avatar?" Zuko asked.

"Can't this wait until the morning?" she said.

"It. Can't."

Azula sighed and opened her eyes.

"Fine. You seemed so worried about how Father would treat you because you hadn't captured the Avatar. I figured if I gave you the credit, you'd have nothing to worry about," she said.

"But why?" Zuko asked.

Azula got out of bed.

"Call it a generous gesture," she said. "I wanted to thank you for your help and I was happy to share the glory."

"You're lying," Zuko said.

"If you say so," Azula said, walking past him.

"You have another motive for doing this, I just haven't figured out what it is," Zuko said.

"Please, Zuko, what ulterior motive could I have?" she said. "What could I possibly gain by letting you get all the glory for defeating the Avatar?" She approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Unless, somehow, the Avatar was actually alive. All that glory would suddenly turn to shame and foolishness. But you said it yourself, that was impossible."

Zuko started to leave.

"Sleep well, Zuzu."